Collapsible re-usable container

ABSTRACT

COLLAPSIBLE MATERIALS HANDLING CONTAINER READILY SET UP IN THE FORM OF A RECTANGULAR CONTAINER, AND COLLAPSIBLE TO A FLATFOLDED FORM. THE CONTAINER INCLUDES A REMOVABLE BOTTOM WALL, RETAINED TO T HE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER WITHOUT THE USE OF FASTENING MEANS. THE REMOVABLE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER FITS BETWEEN SIDE AND END WALLS OF THE CONTAINER AND IS INSERTED FROM THE TOP OF THE CONTAINER AT AN ANGLE, WITH ONE SIDE OF THE BOTTOM WALL LEADING THE OTHER. RETAINER RAILS EXTEND ALONG THE INSIDES OF THE END WALLS AND HAVE TOP SUPPORT-   ING SURFACES FLUSH WITH THE BOTTOMS OF THE SIDEWALLS TO FORM SUPPORTING SURFACES FOR THE REMOVABLE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER. THE REMOVABLE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER HAS AT LEAST ONE INTERLOCKING MEMBER EXTENDING FROM ONE SIDE THEREOF AND FITTING UNDER A SIDEWALL, AS THE REMOVABLE BOTTOM WALL IS INSERTED IN THE CONTAINER AND MOVED INTO A FLAT CONDITION, TO FORM THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Carl T. Flodin Morton Grove, Ill. [21] Appl, No. 819,646 [22] Filed Apr. 28, 1969 [45] Patented June 28, 1971 I 73] Assignee Bigelow-Garvey Lumber Company Chicago, Ill.

[54] COLLAPSIBLE RE-USABLE CONTAINER 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 217/16 [51] lnt.Cl 865d 9/18, B65d 9/22 [50] Field ofSearch 217/16, 48, 43 (A), 43, 36,12, 62

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,020,534 3/1912 Branham 217/16 2,651,43l 9/1953 Johnson 2l7/l6 2,808,956 10/1957 Johnson Primary ExaminerRaphael H. Schwartz Artorney- Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson ABSTRACT: Collapsible materials handling container readily set up in the form of a rectangular container, and collapsible to a flat-folded form. The container includes a removable bottom wall, retained to the bottom of the container without the use of fastening means. The removable bottom wall of the container fits between side and end walls of the container and is inserted from the top of the container at an angle, with one side of the bottom wall leading the other. Retainer rails extend along the insides of the end walls and have top supporting surfaces flush with the bottoms of the sidewalls to form supporting surfaces for the removable bottom wall of the container. The removable bottom wall of the container has at least one interlocking member extending from one side thereof and fitting under a sidewall, as the removable bottom wall is inserted in the container and moved into a flat condition, to form the bottom of the container.

PATENTED JUN28 191: 3 587 902 sum 3 or 3 INVLiN'l'UR.

(ML T F; 00ml 3% i 7 ATTORNEYS COLLAPSIBLE RE-USABLE CONTAINER SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Simplified form of re usable container having a bottom wall inserted in a container from the top thereof and locked in position without the use of fastening means, to accommodate the container to be lifted by a forklift or other lifting means.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a collapsible open top rectangular container arranged with a view toward enabling ready assembly of the bottom wall of the container in interlocking engagement therewith without the use of fastening means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible container which may be collapsed and set up an indefinite number of times, in which the bottom wall of the container is removable and inserted from the inside of the container and supported on the end walls of the container and has interengagement with a sidewall of the container.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simplified form of container arranged with a view toward readily setting up from a flat-folded form, and to have interlocking engagement with the removable bottom wall of the container, to securely retain the bottom wall in position without the use of fastening media other than the interengagement of the bottom wall beneath a side or end wall of the container.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, showing the container in an open rectangular form prior to insertion ofthe bottom wall in the container.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container bottom wall.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the container shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating a step in the operation of inserting the bottom wall of the container in position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, with the bottom wall in material supporting position in the container.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the container substantially along line V-V ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a partial fragmentary view of the adjacent end portions of two adjacent walls of the container, which are slightly separated relative to each other to illustrate the hinged connection between the walls of the container.

FIG. 7 is a partial fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken through the hinged connection between two walls of the container and showing the two walls in extended end to end relation with respect to each other; and

FIG. 8 is a view somewhat similar to FIG. 7, but showing the two walls folded one over the other.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown a rectangular container 11 having parallel sidewalls l2 and 13 and end walls 15, 15 hinged at their adjacent ends by interlocking looped wire hinges 17,17 accommodating two walls of the container to be folded into aligned relation with respect to each other and two other walls of the container to be folded over the first-mentioned two walls, as fragmentarily shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The side and end walls of the container are shown as solid walls shown as being formed from boards 19 extending vertically in side-by-side relation with respect to each other, although they need not necessarily be solid walls, and may be of various suitable constructions. The boards 19 of the parallel sidewalls I2 and 13 are secured together adjacent their tops and bottoms by battens 21 and 22, shown as extending for the length of said sidewalls. The construction of all four walls 12,13 and 15,15 is similar, except the end walls 15,15 extend downwardly beneath the sidewalls I2 and 13 and have retainer rails 23 extending along the insides thereof and along the bottoms thereof and engageable with the undersides of the boards 19 and battens 22,22 of the sidewalls l2 and 13. Each retainer rail 23 has a top supporting surface 25 extending inwardly of each end wall 15, The supporting surfaces 25,25 from ledges engageable by the underside of a removable bottom wall 26 for the container, and forming a support for said bottom wall.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the end walls 15,15 have top battens 27 securing the boards 19 of the container together along the outsides thereof and in alignment with the battens 21 of the sidewalls 12 and 13. Lower battens 30 are disposed above the bottoms of the end walls 15,15 in alignment with the battens 22 of the sidewalls when the walls of the container are hinged together as by the interlocking looped wire hinges 17,17.

The retainer rails 23 have downwardly and outwardly opening notches 31 at each end thereof as indicated by reference character 31, to enable the notched portions of said retainer rails to extend within the sidewalls of a next lowermost container 11, to accommodate tiering of the containers in their open rectangular forms. The notches 31 may be of a selected depth, depending upon the distance it is desired to recess one container within another, and may be of a length slightly greater than the thickness of the battens 22 and the boards 19 of the sidewalls l2 and 13, to snugly fit within said sidewalls. The interlocking looped wire hinges 17 shown in FIGS. 5 through 8 are of the same general form as the interlocking looped wire hinges shown in US. Pat. No. 2,808,956, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, so need only be generally described herein. Said interlocking looped wire hinges are generally in the form of U-shaped wires extending through suitable apertures or hole formed in the side and end walls of the container and leading through the battens thereof at 45 angles relative to said battens and boards. The hinges interlock at the bights of the loops and extend diagonally of the side and end walls to take up minimum areas at the inside corners of the container, and accommodate a bottom wall 26 to be inserted from he top of the container between the hinges 17 of the opposite walls of the container and then be turned downwardly, to be supported in a horizontal position on the ledges 25 of the retainer rails 23, along the insides of the end walls of the container.

The interlocking looped wire hinges l7 accommodate a limited freedom of movement of the end and sidewalls relative to each other, and thereby enable two end and sidewalls to be hinged into end to end relative to each other, into the positions shown in FIG. 7 and two other end and sidewalls to be folded over the first-mentioned side and end walls into the positions shown in FIG. 8.

The bottom wall 26 of the container like the end and sidewalls thereof, is shown as being formed from a series of boards 32, placed in side-by-side relation with respect to each other and nailed or otherwise secured to interlocking members 33,33 extending across the bottoms of said boards 32,32, The interlocking members 33,33 extend parallel to the retainer rails 23,23 and are adapted to have engagement with the ground, when the container is resting on the ground. The interlocking members 33,33 have projecting end portions 36 extending beyond one side of the bottom wall 26, a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the boards 19 of the adjacent sidewall 13, plus the thickness of the batten 22. The projecting end portions 36 of the interlocking members 33,33 are also notched on the undersurfaces thereof, as indicated by reference characters 35,35 in registry with the notches 31,31 when the bottom wall 26 is in position between the side and end walls of the container and supported on the ledges 25,25 of the retainer rails 23,23.

In assembling the container, the flat folded container is set up to a rectangular form by hinging the side and end walls about the interlocking looped wire hinges 17,17 to form a rectangular open bottom container, as shown in FIG. 1.

When the container has been set up into a rectangular form, with the sidewalls at right angles with respect to the end walls thereof, the bottom wall 26 is inserted in the container from the top thereof in the general direction shown in FIG. 3, with the projecting ends 36 of the interlocking members 33 of the bottom wall 26 facing downwardly. The bottom wall 26 may then be lowered into the container with the notched projecting ends 36 of the interlocking members leading, as the lowermost board 32 of the bottom wall 26 engages the ledges of the retainer rails 23. The bottom wall 26 is then hinged downwardly with the projecting ends 36 of the interlocking members 33 moving beneath the adjacent boards 19 and bottom 22 of the sidewall 13, to place said bottom wall into a flat condition, with the projecting ends 36 of the interlocking members 33 under the adjacent batten 22, and the ends of the boards 32 of said bottom wall 26 supported on the ledges 25,25 of the retainer rails 23,23. The container is then fully assembled, to contain various materials therein, and may be lifted by a lift truck, the forks of which may extend under the container along the interlocking members 33,33, from a sidewall of the container, The entire container may also be lifted by lifting means of various forms, lifting the container by engagement with the sidewalls or side and end walls thereof.

No top wall or cover is shown for the container herein shown and described, although the container may be provided with a top wall or cover if desired, which may be interlocked with the side and end walls in any suitable manner.

lclaim:

1. In a collapsible, reusable, materials handling container: first and second pairs of rigid parallel walls having horizontally extending battens along the outside of the top and bottom end portions of the walls retaining them against springing across their planes and the walls arranged in edge-to-edge right-angled relation relative to each other;

means hinging said walls together at the adjacent ends thereof and accommodating collapse of the container into a flat condition for storage and to be up in to a rectangular form having an open top and bottom;

the first of said pairs of parallel walls extending below the bottoms of the second of said pairs of parallel walls;

each wall of the first of said pairs of parallel walls having a rail projecting inwardly therefrom and extending along the inside of the downwardly projecting portion thereof, having a horizontal top surface substantially flush with the bottom surfaces of the second pair of parallel walls and forming aligned bottom support ledges;

a removable bottom wall for said container of a size to fit between the first of said pairs of parallel walls from the tops thereof and to be slidably moved into said container and rest in position on said supporting ledges without springing said walls;

said bottom wall having a top material supporting surface and a parallel bottom surface;

a pair of spaced parallel interlocking members extending across said bottom surface of said bottom wall and each having a plane top surface on the level of said bottom surface of said bottom wall, with a first end flush with one side of said bottom wall and a second end extending substantially beyond the opposite side of said bottom wall, said members being located in adjacently spaced relation to the respective ends of said bottom wall;

said bottom wall being adapted to be inserted in said container from the top thereof with said opposite side of the bottom wall leading into engagement with said ledges and to then be pivoted about said ledges into a horizontal position to be supported on said ledges without affecting said parallel walls and with the second ends of said interlocking members engageable beneath the bottoms surface of an associated wall of said second pair of parallel walls, to interlockingly engage the top surface of said second ends of the interlocking members with said bottom surface of said associated wall and with said bottom wall supported on said aligned bottom-supporting ledges;

whereby the container is adapted to be lifted by a lift truck, the forks of which extend under the container along said interlocking members.

2. A collapsible reusable materials handling container in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the walls of the container are formed by vertically extending boards,

wherein said battens are provided to secure said boards together adjacent the tops and bottoms thereof,

wherein the batten securing said boards together of the second of said pairs of parallel walls extends along the bottom thereof, and

wherein one of said last-mentioned battens has an undersurface flush with the bottoms of said boards and interlockingly engaged by the top surface of said interlocking member.

3. The collapsible reusable materials handling container of claim 2,

wherein the bottom wall is formed by boards in side-by-side relation relative to each other,

wherein the interlocking members extend transversely of said boards and have said boards secured thereto in sideby-side relation relative to each other.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 3, 587, 902 Dated lune 28 1971 In H Carl T. Flodin It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

There is to be corrected Column 2, line 10, change "from" to -form-. Line 38, change "hole" to -holes-. Line 45, change "he" to the-. Line 53, before "relative" insert -relation-. Column 3, lines 16 and 17, change "bottom 22" to --batten 22-. Column 4, line 22, change "bottoms" to bottom-.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of February 1972.

(Sm Attest:

EDJJARD I LFLETCHEIQJR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALR At testing Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) USCOMM-DC stuns-peg l) S GUVERNHFNT PRINYING OFFlCE W159 (*IBBI'QII 

